The war in Ukraine may cease if one of the sides, namely armed groups of “the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR)” fulfill the points set forth in the Minsk Protocol.

Such statement was made by H.E. Ivan Kukhta, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in Armenia, at the Media Center initiated press conference.

The recent escalation in the South-East of Ukraine evolved new casualties. Both sides accuse each other of launching military actions. The January 31 meeting of the Minsk Contact Group and protocol as such completely collapsed.

Leonid Kuchma – Ukrainian ex- President representing official Kiev – blamed delegates of self-declared Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics for ruining the talks in Minsk while the representatives of Luhansk and Donetsk came up with accusations against the Ukrainian authorities for the escalation and inability of controlling their troops.

The situation in Luhansk and Donetsk, the Ukrainian Ambassador believes, is tense. He described the recent casualties in the regions as “terrorism attacks by armed gangs of LPR and DPR.” “The armed gangs are to be held responsible for the accidents. Common people who are not involved in the military actions have died,” stated Kukhta.

The Ambassador added the Armenian officials, representatives of the Foreign Ministry and civil society visited the embassy in Yerevan to sign the book of condolences.

The conflict in the South-East of Ukraine involves three sides, the Ambassador believes. “The conflict involves illegal armed gangs of Luhansk and Donetsk, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, namely Police, armed forces, and, thirdly, the Russian Federation,” he said, adding the war in the South-East of Ukraine will cease as soon as “illegal armed forces” of Luhansk and Donetsk fulfill the terms of the agreement signed in Minsk in September, 2014. The agreement remains in force and is a tentative settlement of the conflict, the Ambassador said.

“Acknowledged by the world, the protocol still stands at the attention of the world community. If all the sides are not reluctant to fulfill the agreement, certainly, there will be peace and the war will be over,” said the Ambassador. Luhansk and Donetsk, according to the Ambassador, face a humanitarian crisis since military operations continue in these regions.

“The well-being is threatened. Ukraine does its best to ensure locals’ well-being. It provides electricity, heating, telecommunications, benefits and pension. However, social benefits cannot be provided in the regions controlled by terrorists as a lot of banks do not operate now and transactions are not monitored,” said Kukhta.

The Ambassador added Ukraine is for establishing peace in the region, based on the Minsk Protocol and is ready to negotiate the decentralization of power in Donetsk and Luhansk.

During the press conference at Media Center on December 11, Eiji Taguchi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E., congratulated the Republic of for signing the comprehensive and enhanced agreement with the European Union on November 24, 2017.

One of the most pressing issues in the Armenian energy system is the non-transparent and illogical formation of the gas price for the consumer. Officially, Russia sells gas to Armenia at $ 150 per 1,000 cubic meters but the final consumer pays almost twice more - $ 290.

From November 25 to December 1, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is held within the framework of which a press conference was held at Media Center on December 5 dedicated to “No excuse for violence” regional campaign.